Bedtime
by Roz and Guild
Summary: A young Fili and Kili take over Thorin's room. The night is anything but peaceful! Non-slash :)


Hello! Guild here :) Kili is (human equivalent) ~4 and Fili 9.

* * *

"Wheeeee!" Kili shot across the room and with a great leap, bounded onto Thorin's large, double bed. He was closely followed by Fili who clambered up next to him, pummelling the pillows and wriggling underneath the warm quilt next to his brother. A much more sedate Dis came in after them, smiling.

"All ready for bed?" she asked, grinning at the sight of her sons peeping over the edge of the blankets.

"Yes!" Kili declared gleefully. Dis laughed. This had to be the first time either of her sons had displayed enthusiasm at bed time. Their own shared bedroom had recently undergone a much needed repainting and, rather than have his nephews suffer the unpleasant fumes, Thorin had given them his bed for the night and graciously offered to take the couch. Both boys were extremely excited at the thought of sharing a bed, and in a different room at the opposite end of the corridor. It was a novel idea to them, just like an adventure.

"All right then." Dis leaned forward and tucked the blankets up snug around them, bending to plant a kiss on each of their foreheads. Both had sweet-smelling hair, fresh and clean from an evening bath, and their stomachs were full and content after a large supper. "Sleep well. Not too much talking!" She picked the candle up from the bedside table and retreated to the door.

"Good night," Fili called. Kili snuggled a little closer to him, sucking his thumb. "Night Mama."

"Good night." With another smile, Dis left the room and closed the door behind her. Fili watched as the orange glow between the door and the floor slowly faded as his mother walked away, leaving the room in pitch blackness. He blinked through the dark, straining his eyes to try and make out the rest of the furniture in the room. Kili shifted beside him.

"It's dark Fili."

"I know."

"It's never dark like this in our room."

"Our room is near the kitchen. There are always lots of lights on in there."

A moment of silence. Fili could hear dim clanking sounds as his mother washed up pots in the kitchen, and occasionally a voice between her and Thorin. They sounded awfully far away.

"I'm scared Fili."

"It's just the dark," Fili responded, trying to sound confident, although he was a little unnerved himself. He felt Kili's small hand reach for his under the quilt and cling to it tightly, so he turned over onto his side to face his brother. Already he was growing accustomed to the dark, and he could see Kili's large round eyes, framed by his dark wavy hair, staring at him through the gloom. "There, I can see you now," he said a little more brightly. "We just have to get used to it."

Kili relaxed a little, and his thumb shot back to his mouth.

"Shall we play a game?" Fili suggested.

Kili nodded. "How about I Spy?" he whispered enthusiastically.

"But we can't see much in here."

"Oh."

Fili pondered for a while, trying to think of something to play. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a wild tickle at his sides.

"Hey! Stop that Kili!"

Kili giggled. His fingers went to Fili's neck, where he knew his brother was particularly vulnerable, and tickled him hard. Fili squirmed, trying to suppress his laughter, and launched a return attack. Kili squealed and tried to wriggle away, tangling himself in the sheets. The brothers were so engrossed in their tickle-battle, which was rapidly increasing in energy and volume, that they failed to hear the sound of approaching footsteps. The door creaked violently as it was swung open, making them both jump in alarm.

"What in Durin's name are you doing?" Thorin inquired, peering into the room. A dim light streamed over towards the bed.

"Nothing," Kili said quickly, unsuccessfully trying to straighten the sheets in which his feet were hopelessly entangled. Thorin strode over, his face serious but with an amused twinkle in his eyes.

"It's time to get some sleep," he said, adjusting the blankets. "No more tickling."

"Can we whisper?" Kili asked, putting on his best angelic face.

"No. Sleep." Thorin smiled at them. "Remember we have to walk to the village tomorrow."

"Ooh yes." Fili's eyes lit up at the thought of the impending outing. His uncle had promised him a visit to the forge. He liked nothing better than to watch the dwarves hammer and carve at many beautiful weapons, delicately forming them from nothing more than a lump of iron. He settled down against the soft pillow. "Good night uncle."

"Good night." Thorin looked proudly at his two nephews. Fili had grown tall over the past few months, and was showing a keen interest in weapons of all sorts, something Thorin was eager to encourage. And although Kili was oftentimes quite a handful, his cheery enthusiasm was contagious. Thorin thoroughly enjoyed taking out the younger Durins. "I'll see you in the morning."

Once again left in darkness, Fili turned over to face the door and yawned. He closed his eyes, fully intending to get a good sleep so he would be fresh for the next day. For a long while he lay there, snug and warm under Dis' patchwork quilt, and slowly sinking into a comfortable snooze.

"Fili."

Kili's soft whisper jolted Fili out of his state of near-sleep. A little annoyed, he simply ignored his brother and pulled the blankets a bit more to his side.

"Fili."

This time Kili was slightly louder. Fili shuffled a little more towards the edge of the bed, hoping Kili would get the idea and leave him alone. "Go to sleep Kili," he mumbled sleepily.

For a long while Kili was silent. In the distance, they heard Dis and Thorin bid each other good night, and there was a soft creak as Dis went into her own room and shut the door. The whole house was now quiet and still. Fili smiled to himself and rolled onto his stomach, letting one arm dangle over the edge of the bed and feeling the cool outer air contrast with the warmth of his blanket cocoon.

Just before he dozed off, he felt a warm little hand grab his arm and pull it, not-too-gently, back onto the mattress. Fili grumbled and shook it off. For a few minutes he lay there, drifting back into sleep. He let his arm fall again.

This time, two hands gripped his sleeve and roughly dragged his arm so far across his back there was a small spasm in his shoulder. Irritated, he groggily lifted his head.

"What are you doing?"

Kili was kneeling besides his brother, wide awake. "Nothing," he replied, quickly laying down and pulling the blankets up so far they covered his face, with nothing more than a tuft of curly hair visible on the pillow. Fili sighed and let his head drop back down. With no more disturbance from Kili, he soon fell into a deep and pleasant sleep.

About 10 minutes passed before Fili was rudely jostled awake. This time his leg, which had just been resting on the edge of the bed, was being slid away towards the middle of the mattress. He spun onto his back, glaring at his brother who was sitting cross-legged next to him.

"Kili! Stop that!"

Kili turned anxious eyes towards him. "You have to be careful Fili!" he breathed.

"Careful?"

"Yes." Kili's eyes were wide and piercing black in the dark.

"Careful of what?"

"Of the goblin."

"_Goblin_?" Fili squinted at him in confusion.

"Yes. The goblin under the bed."

Fili rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat up, looking Kili in the eye. "Kili. There is no goblin under the bed."

"Yes there is."

"No there isn't."

"There is." Kili stubbornly stuck his thumb into his mouth and sucked it defiantly.

"Who told you there was?"

"Mister Nori."

Fili sighed. Nori had been travelling through and had stayed for a couple of days, bringing Thorin news from afar. He hadn't seen him talking to Kili, but they must have a had a conversation at some point during one of Nori's visits to their house.

"He was just telling a story."

"Uncle Thorin believed all his stories."

"Those weren't stories, they were _news_. He just- urgh! What are we supposed to do about this goblin?"

"He won't bother you," Kili whispered confidentially, "unless you invade his territory." He rattled off the words like a parrot.

"And what exactly is his territory?"

Kili crawled extremely carefully to the edge of the bed and peered over. "He lives under there. You can't get too close."

Fili sighed. "Fine. I won't tempt him with any limbs. May I go back to sleep now?"

Kili nodded, and allowed Fili to tuck him back in. Fili lay down near the middle of the bed, exaggeratedly pressing his arms very close to the side of his body. "Better?"

"Yes." Kili smiled at him and closed his eyes. Fili yawned and tried to get back into sleep mode. He enjoyed about a half hour of uninterrupted slumber.

"Fili?"

No answer.

"Fili?" Kili gave him a small nudge. Fili groaned.

"What is it now?" he asked, without bothering to open his eyes.

"I'm thirsty."

"Go and get a drink then."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I'm scared."

With an exceedingly deep sigh, Fili sat up. "Can't you wait till the morning?"

"I'm very thirsty."

"Fine. I'll go and get you some water." Fili pushed back the covers and made to get out of the bed. Kili at once sat up and grabbed him in alarm.

"The goblin, Fili!"

Fili rolled his eyes. "How do you expect me to get out of here then?"

Kili's eyes roamed the room. "The chair," he said at last, pointing to an old carpeted chair which stood a few feet from the bed. "If you can get to that you'll be safe."

Fili stood up, his feet sinking into the soft mattress of the bed as he surveyed the distance to the chair. He bounced up and down, preparing to jump, before checking himself. He wasn't sure he could leap accurately and he didn't fancy crashing into the floor in the dark. He lowered himself to his knees.

"Hold onto my feet, Kili," he whispered.

Kili readily obliged. Fili stretched out his arms and edged a little further away. He reached as far as he could, until his fingers brushed the wooden arm of the chair, rough and cool to the touch. The few extra inches he'd put on in a recent growth spurt were really coming in handy.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yes," Kili's voice was excited and a little breathless.

With a sudden lunge, Fili grabbed the back of the chair. He wriggled forward, forming a very straight dwarven bridge between the bed and chair. A gush of cold air travelled through his thin pyjamas, making him shiver, and his stomach lurched as he felt himself slowly start to slide. Kili was still clinging to his feet.

"You can let go now," Fili hissed. For a moment he hung there, gripping hard, feeling gravity pull him towards the floor. Finally gathering his wits, he used the mattress as a launching pad and kicked off his legs. The chair wobbled precariously, and he only just managed to scramble onto the rough seat and rock his weight to balance it, barely preventing the entire thing from falling down. Kili clapped his hands in delight.

"You made it!"

"Hm." Feeling that Kili really owed him for all this effort, Fili climbed over the other arm of the chair and onto the patch of floor directly in front of the door. The floorboards felt terribly cold beneath his bare feet. He pushed open the door with a creak, and peered down the black corridor.

"I'll be back in a moment," he said bravely, inwardly dreading the walk through the dark.

"Alright." Kili looked rather anxious as Fili left him kneeling on the bed. With his arms outstretched, he slowly padded down the corridor, taking deep breaths and trying not to spook at every little shadow that jumped across him. His left hand brushed past Dis' door frame, and finally his right hand came across empty space- the door towards the kitchen.

Some strands of moonlight had managed to weave into the kitchen through gaps in the shutters, bathing the room in a cold, blue light. The adjoining living room was shadowy and dark, with only a couple of dim orange coals glowing softly in the fireplace grate beyond the couch. Fili went straight to a pitcher of water and poured some into a mug for Kili.

He had just picked it up carefully, in both hands so as not to spill any, when a tremendous, thunderous rumble suddenly shook the entire room before billowing out in an extended, spluttery burst. Fili's heart leapt into his throat as he jumped about a foot in the air, water splashing out all over his night shirt. The sound commenced again. Without wasting any time, Fili galloped back into the corridor. His heart pounded as he raced back towards the room, now and then colliding painfully with the walls, wondering if the horrific source of the noise was now chasing behind him. He could almost hear it breathing and thumping behind him. He skidded past the room, where Kili, who had heard his more-than-a-little-noisy retreat, was jumping up and down on the bed in alarm.

"Quickly Fili!" he yelled as his brother swung into the doorway. "Don't forget the goblin!"

Without a second thought, Fili sprang into the air, soaring towards the bed so as to clearly avoid any of the goblin's territory while simultaneously wanting to reach the safety of the covers as quickly as possible. He was expecting a firm landing beneath him, only had underestimated the impact of his weight and speed. With a mighty crack, some part of the wooden frame deep below the mattress gave way and the entire right hand side of the bed collapsed, tumbling both Fili and Kili to the floor on the opposite side of the room.

The two were just sitting up dazedly when a bright light pierced the darkness, making them squint, and both Thorin and Dis appeared in the doorway, holding candles and looking rather bemused.

"What on earth..." Dis' eyes opened wide in surprise at the dishevelled state of both the room and her sons. Thorin placed his candle on the bedside table, running his eyes over his nephews to ensure they were unhurt.

"You broke my bed," he said somewhat disbelievingly, lifting the mattress to examine the extent of damage beneath.

"What were you doing?" Dis was almost too stunned to move. Fili staggered to his feet, pulling up Kili beside him.

"I was just getting Kili a drink of water," he said, somewhat shakily.

"You broke the bed," Thorin repeated, shaking his head.

"There was a sound!" Fili explained. "A terrible sound. It scared me and-"

He was cut off by Dis suddenly tossing her head back and roaring with laughter. Her candle wobbled dangerously, and had to be quickly retrieved by Thorin as she sank into the chair, giggling uncontrollably.

"Your uncle-" she began, only to be interrupted by her own snort of amusement. "Your uncle tends to _snore_ when he sleeps on the couch."

Fili turned red in embarrassment. Even Thorin could barely smother his chuckles. Kili, clinging to Fili's shirt, understood little of what was going on. He took in the broken bed, and a sudden thought struck him.

"You killed the goblin, Fili!" he said excitedly. Thorin sobered up immediately.

"What goblin?"

"It's nothing." Fili stepped over the tangled mess of sheets and quilt and quickly tried to change the topic. "... where are we going to sleep now?"

* * *

Thorin Oakenshield shifted rather uncomfortably on the old and rather worse-for-wear couch, pulling the rug up a little closer to his chin. He was cramped and anticipated a rather stiff day in the morning. On the floor beside him, a large double mattress was spread out in the space between couch and fireplace, and both his nephews were sleeping there peacefully. Adjusting his position once again, Thorin closed his eyes, resolved to make as best a night's rest as he could.

What he didn't realise was that while Fili was dreaming happily, Kili, while lying perfectly still, was fully awake. Thorin had just managed to relax when a little high pitched voice reached his ears through the darkness.

"Uncle Thorin?"

* * *

Thank you for reading. Reviews greatly appreciated! ~Guild


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